Making Experience Matter

Expology visited Panasonic Centre in Tokyo in September. A Corporate Global Communications hub for Panasonic that show the latest products and technologies. Our focus was RiSuPia on the third floor, a hands-on museum for visitors to experience the fun of math and science.

RiSuPia is an engaging experience, with its set up of hands-on activities and interactive games, covering topics such as optics and colour, magnetism, waves and pendulums. It's easy to spend a couple of hours here in an arena presenting actual products and services and in a skillful way visualising Panasonic’s aims to become a "Green Innovation Company". Since the vision is to provide innovation within lifestyle the Center functions as a means of communication for visitors, they can comment and send requests directly to the Center.

The dramaturgy of the third floor is based on anticipation and excitement with a feeling of queing up to ride the carousel before being led to a room in a group of 50. At the entrance to the exhibition, you get a headset and a controller, called a Discovery Scope, that interact with the exhibits in the exhibition. The device gives explanations of the background science and its practical applications. It also prolongs the visit as you can look at your result when you get back home with the login you receive when you leave the exhibition.

The objects in the exhibition vary and you are faced with quizzes and a mixture of stylistic devices of storytelling with easy explanations of how science works. For example showing how clouds and snow are formed using simple keystrokes. Headset units come in both English and Japanese, and all the exhibits have explanations in both languages.

Once you've had your fill of science in RiSuPia you can check out the latest in consumer applications downstairs - environmentally conscious washing machines and other household appliances on the second floor, and audio-visual equipment and videogames, such as Wii and Nintendo, on the first floor.